GardaWorld to pay for costs of canceled Chicago migrant tent camp in Brighton Park
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Gov. JB Pritzker said Wednesday that the private security firm that was building a now-canceled migrant tent camp in Brighton Park will eat the cost of the construction that was halted last week.
Pritzker scrapped the tent encampment at 38th and California mid-construction on Dec. 5, saying there were too many environmental concerns at the proposed site to proceed.
GardaWorld, the private contractor hired by the state to build the tents that were underway when the project was halted, will pay for the costs of the work that was done.
"They knew as they were building this shelter, before the environmental report came in, that it was possible the environmental report wouldn't allow the building – the completion, rather – of the shelter. And so they understood that, and they were willing to take that liability on," Pritzker said.
The governor said GardaWorld will help the state set up other shelters in the future. That includes rehabbing brick-and-mortar shelters to better accommodate migrants.
The state has expedited plans to turn a former CVS store in Little Village into a 200-bed shelter for migrants.
Pritzker said the state also is working with the Archdiocese of Chicago to identify potential buildings that could be used as shelters, but he declined to name any specific locations.